Ferrite materials are commonly used in electronic devices to enhance the performance of components such as transformers and inductors. In many applications, pressed and sintered ferrite ceramics such as Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4, NiFe.sub.2 O.sub.4, MgFe.sub.2 O.sub.4, and (NiZn)Fe.sub.2 O.sub.4 are used as blocks around which transformers or inductors are wound. At low frequencies, the magnetic loss tangents of these materials are adequate, and hence, polycrystalline pressed powdered materials are sufficient. However, in high frequency applications such as microwave filters and resonators, the losses become very high and hence single crystalline materials must be used. Miniaturization and integration of components for use in radio frequency electronics require that methods be found to deposit thin films of ferrites. There are a number of challenges in this process: (1) very few materials possess low loss at high frequencies, (2) depositing magnetic materials is difficult using a high rate source such as a magnetron, and (3) the deposited films may need to have widely varying thicknesses. These requirements have limited the development of ferrite technology in microelectronics, and therefore, a novel solution to these problems is needed.